


Inner Demons

by Kitkattu



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Angst, Mild Blood, Other, partial vent angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-11 19:00:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12941655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitkattu/pseuds/Kitkattu
Summary: Hanamaru's been having these dreams...She swears that they aren't manifested from fears or any deep thoughts, or at least tries her best not to think too much on that possibility. She just wants to move on from each one and be able to live her life in peace. But the dreams connect; a plot forms, and she can't help but have them start to nag at her mind...





	1. Leaks of Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> Based on an idea I got from Maru's Deep Thought, a vent fic I wrote a few days ago. This kind of still vent writing, but I also just got a good angst idea sooo~

“Ruby-chan?! Where...Where are you zura?!”

Hanamaru felt so out of breath. How long had she been running? Where was she even running to; she couldn’t see in this inky darkness. She could feel the ground beneath her and the smallest echoes of Ruby’s voice, and that alone was enough to spur her on, even though her legs felt like they could give out at any moment. She had to find Ruby. The other girl was probably scared and alone in this void, and Maru needed to make sure she was safe and sound ---

The faint sight of pink pigtails made her spirits rise, gasping as she saw the girl just wandering through the dark, delicate frame shining against the eerie backdrop. A sign of hope. A sign of warmth and comfort. Going out into a full sprint, using up the last reserves of her energy, she charged towards the other girl. _“_ Ruby-chan! I’m right here, zura, Ruby-cha---!”

Her words cut off abruptly and the wind was knocked right out of her as she hit a wall. An invisible wall that she didn’t even notice. She let out a yelp in pain as she slid down it, grabbing at her now bleeding and busted up nose, vision blurred and her whole face stinging. When the initial shock finally went away she looked up at where Ruby had been, only to find her walking slowly away from her, creating the distance that Maru had tried so hard to get rid of.

“No! R-Ruby; Ruby!” Hanamaru was screaming at the top of her lunges, iron taste slowly slipping into her mouth as she banged both of her hands against her invisible obstacle, the blood stained on her left leaving marks. Ruby didn’t even stop her stride; didn’t even turn her head the slightest bit. Blurs of their other friends started to form right next to the small girl, all of their voices echoing now, but Maru couldn’t make out what they were saying, though she didn’t really care. She just wanted to get to them; to get to Ruby. She screamed her name so much, her own voice starting to bounce around in the darkness and deafened anything else. _“Ruby-chan!”_

* * *

 

_“Ruby---”_

Hanamaru had bolted awake, sitting upright as she started to scream her best friend’s name, but covering her mouth before she couldn’t go any further, screams choked down and shaky, heavy breathing in its wake. She had been starting to sweat, little beads on her skin, and she was shivering from the combination of fear gripping her heart and cold air brushing against her skin. Looking around at her surroundings helped her calm down though; she was in her bedroom, nice and snuggled in her bed a moment ago, moonlight pouring into her room from the crack in her door and a candle still lit on her nightstand. Feeling her nose confirmed that she wasn’t actually harmed, and checking her phone confirmed that it was about 1 AM.

A dream. It had all just been a dream.

She gave herself a moment to calm herself, taking deep breaths until fear was drained away and all that was left was a numb feeling. Then she stared at her phone, debating something but then quickly forgetting about it, going to stand up as someone slid open her bedroom door completely. Maru already knew who it was, slowly turning towards the old woman with a forced smile. “Good morning, Grandma.”

The old woman stayed silent for a moment, looking over her granddaughter with such a soft expression, before simply walking past her to blow out her candle. “It is not a good morning,” She started, walking back and this time clasping one of Maru’s hands in both of her own, “When you’re awakened by your granddaughter shrieking in terror. You would think a demon suddenly popped into her room.”

Maru frowned at that, gripping onto her grandmother’s hand, “I’m sorry, zura. It was just a dream ---”

“Dreams are not supposed to frighten you, my child.” Grandma interrupted, expression still so warm. Maru shushed, mouth pressed into a thin line as the old woman started to lead her out of the room, shivering again as the cool night air hit her skin with more of a force. “Now,” her grandmother continued, starting to take off her shawl to give to Maru but stopping once Maru waved her other hand in simple protest, just adjusting it on her shoulders and speeding up her walk a tad, “Will you tell me what it was about over some green tea? It might make you feel better.”

Maru smiled again at that; her grandmother was just too kind to her, but she didn’t want to burden her with such nonsense. It had to be as such, right? It was a dream that came and went, with no meaning behind it other than being a manifestation of the day’s stresses weighing her down. So she just waved her hand again, trying to give her grandmother a reassuring smile. “It was just a silly dream, zura. It didn’t make much sense, and there was no real plot ---”

“Your mind does not have to make sense of your thoughts, Hanamaru. It only portrays them and keeps them locked up tight, so that only you can look over them and make sense of it all. Your dream was your mind trying to process some sort of thought or feeling in a dreamlike way, is all.”

Maru blinked at those words as she slid open the door leading into the main part of the house, quickly shutting it once both her grandma and her were inside, before being taken to the kitchen. That woman could speak a lot of wisdom and help make sense of things, but what she said left Maru feeling a bit tense and confused. What was that dream trying to tell her then? She thought it was just something scary that her mind came up with; she was reading this intense novel, so maybe that was where the thoughts came from. She had to believe that it wasn’t actually anything so extreme in her mind; no hidden thoughts or fears leaking into her dreams…

Feeling something on her forehead brought her back to reality, looking up from where her grandmother had sat her down to find the woman kissing her forehead. When she pulled away, her smile was still just as soft, but there was a sparkle of worry in her eyes. “And this type of thing, my child, isn’t supposed to make you look so down.” With that, Maru was presented a fresh cup of green tea, surprised that she didn’t even hear the kettle go off, before her grandmother sat down next to her with her own. Sipping at the drink instantly put Maru a bit more at ease, before resting her head against the old woman’s shoulder, sighing into her cup. She was sure it was nothing still, or at least tried to convince herself of such, but she supposed just telling her grandmother wouldn’t hurt...


	2. A Crack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanamaru's been having these dreams...  
> She swears that they aren't manifested from fears or any deep thoughts, or at least tries her best not to think too much on that possibility. She just wants to move on from each one and be able to live her life in peace. But the dreams connect; a plot forms, and she can't help but have them start to nag at her mind...  
> But it's nothing, she says, it has to be nothing...

Ruby’s voice was echoing louder than before in the darkness. She was shouting out what she wanted to say, but her voice was still unclear; a jumbled mess of emotion that Hanamaru couldn’t quite make out. She wished she knew what her best friend was shouting, but perhaps the urgency to know spurred her on. If only she was closer to the pinkette; if only she could see where the pinkette was. She had to find Ruby fast to understand her, and to make sure that she was safe and sound. The thought of her screaming out for help made her chest feel tight, her sense of urgency rising as she kept running forward.

Then there she was again. She was still walking, and she still shined against her inky backdrop, but this time it looked like she was calling out. Her words were still unrecognizable, but at least Maru had found her again. But she remembered this...The urgency left her for a moment, her running slowed to a jog as her thoughts distracted her. She didn’t want to lose sight of Ruby, but something about this whole scenario felt...Off.

But no; she had to shake off this feeling! It was the darkness distracting her; she had to reach Ruby! Holding her had out, she tried to pick up speed again, calling out to Ruby again. “Ruby! I’m here; turn around, please! Ruby-ch---!”

_Smack!_

Her hand smacked against an invisible wall, making her shriek and stumble backwards, all movement halted as she looked at her now stinging hand and wrist. Her worry and urgency rose when she got over her initial shock, gping from gingerly touching the invisible wall, the only thing on it being some sort of dried and peeling red paint, to looking up and pushing against it.

Ruby was staring at her. Maru couldn’t see her eyes, and all of her features in general were unreadable, but she had stopped and turned towards her.

It instantly raised her spirits, smile forming for a few seconds as she pounded on the wall, before fading as she remembered her main objective, choosing instead to run with her hand dragging across the wall, hoping that there was some sort of opening. “R-Ruby, stay there okay? I’m gonna try and get to you as soon as possible, zura!” And her best friend stayed there, unmoving, watching Maru run and run for what felt like forever.

But then, finally, a small opening seemed to make itself known, her fingers floating and then pressing against the opposite wall. It was just barely big enough for her to walk through sideways; some sort of small crevice or crack. At least it was something. “Ruby, I-I found an opening, zura! I’m coming; I’ll be there in just a sec!” She started wiggling and inching her way through, feeling more tense at being in such a cramped place, but her determination to get past this and to Ruby spurred her on, getting faster and faster ---

And then she stopped. Her heart stopped along with all the movement in her body; it sank into the pit of her stomach as her breathing quickened.

Stuck. She became stuck in the small crevice. She didn’t know how she was wedged; everything just felt tight, like it had all just gotten smaller and was trying to squish her. She struggled to set herself free, fearing that she would never escape, looking up at the other girl that seemed so far away. Ruby was staring at her and Hanamaru stared back, hoping her best friend could see the panic in her eyes, even if all emotion was still hidden on the other’s face. Though Maru could finally see her mouth moving, she still didn’t know what she was saying, and her echoing words still made no sense…

Reaching out her hand again, Maru’s fingertips could feel nothing but more invisible wall inside the crevice; just how long this went was worrying her too. “Ruby-chan! C-Could you come over and try to help me, please!” She tried to call to her best friend, reaching her hand out more towards her now, stretching her hand out as far as she could. But Ruby’s echoes didn’t stop, nor did she move a single muscle, worrying and panicking her even more. “I-It’d be better if you were over here anyways, zura! Th-That way w-we could be closer together ---”

**Crack.**

The sound made Maru’s voice get caught in her throat, but then let it out as a sudden scream at what she saw and felt. The wall had moved, the crevice becoming tighter and cracking every bone in her back with how fast it changed. But back problems weren’t her cause for distress.

It was the glimmering crack in front of her. It put one thought; one possible theory as to what this wall was, in her head: Glass. She probably wouldn’t have seen her reflection or any glares since there was no light besides the one emitted from Ruby; if only she had felt it or saw it sooner. And it was squishing her to death, and even if she survived long enough to have all of this wall shatter around her, all of that falling and possibly flying glass ---

“Ruby! Ruby, help me, please! Th-This could break at any moment zura; Ru---!”

Panicked and fearful shouting at the top of her lungs, she tried to wiggle and budge herself, her movements erratic with the small space she had. But, looking up, she noticed that her plea was falling on deaf ears, Ruby’s back turned to her while blurry visions of their friends stood next to the pinkette, staring at the pitiful scene without moving an inch. Why? Why wasn’t she helping her? Had she not heard her, or had she...Given up?

“No, Ruby-chan! Someone; any of you; please!”

Her shouting was ripping her vocal chords at this point, but she kept getting squeezed and heard and saw more cracks form, her air intake getting low and starting to feel tiny shards poke at her skin. Why weren’t any of them helping her?! They saw her like this; struggling like this, but still nothing. None of them moved while she struggled, starting to sob and feel lightheaded. Why, why, why…

* * *

 

“Why, zura…”

Maru muttered as she was roused from her sleep, blinking a few times making tears that were held in her eyes trickle down her cheeks. But as her vision started to focus, she awoke herself the rest of the way with a start, sitting upright ---

And hitting Ruby in the head with her own.

“Ooooow. Owowow…” Both girls held their heads in pain, Ruby holding her forehead while Hanamaru rubbed the back of hers, briefly forgetting about the fear that struck her after her dream.

Another dream...It had been about a few days since her first dream and the night she had talked to her grandma about it all. Having a dream so similar this soon though...The woman had said something like this might happen. Maru had a figurative way of thinking because of all the books she read, so any dreams she would have from this point forward could be connected to her first. But it wasn’t just a continuation; it was as if Maru’s dream self did a take two, or got a restart, or went back in time. Things were almost identical apart from the few changes that helped move the plot forward, though only by so much. But it was a continuation, and she had promised her grandma that she’d write down such information for her to talk to her about later...But first…

“R-Ruby-chan? Are you okay, zura?” She asked, using her free hand to rub at her eyes and quickly wipe away her tears with her arm, glancing at her surroundings before looking up at her best friend. They were in the library; Maru and Ruby had study hall, but both of them insisted that they had to do seperate, important things, Ruby’s being that she wanted to work on details for their new costumes, and Maru’s being that she had to look after the library as much as she could while the senior librarian was out sick. There was also the few books she checked out for ‘research’, dream and sleep theories laid out in front of her. Thankfully the books were closed, but still a bit of a nagging anxiety formed at the idea of Ruby asking questions.

But, thankfully, Ruby just seemed concerned with the slight bump now on her head. Unfortunately, though, it looked like there were tears in eyes…

“Oh Ruby,” Maru started, standing from her seat to look at her best friend’s booboo closer, “I’m sorry that I got so startled, zura!”

“N-No, it’s fine, Maru-chan.” The other tried to reassure her, wiping at her own eyes, “I’m sorry I woke you up from your nap and startled you in the first place. You must have been working and studying a lot if it made you so tired…”

“Ah, sorry, zura. I didn’t mean to doze off; honest, zura.” She apologized again, pushing in her chair and stepping away from the front desk, giving Ruby a soft smile. “In any case, we should probably get you an ice pack from the nurse’s office; a fairly big bump is already growing...”

“Y-Yeah. That’d help a lot; you shot up really fast and I was so surprised!” Ruby giggled at her own statement, making Maru smile even more. It was good to see that Ruby got over the initial pain; if she had actually burst into tears, Maru was sure that they would be totally late to class. Though, they probably would be a bit late still, if the reason for why Ruby woke her up in the first place was what she thought it was. Maru was fine with missing a few minutes at least though, especially to just help Ruby a bit.

She looked away from the other girl, tidying up the desk real quick before straightening out her cardigan and making her way towards the library door. “So, did you finish up all of the little details, zura?”

“Huh? O-Oh, right!” Ruby started, following after her best friend, bowing slightly when Maru allowed her to go through the door first. “I think everything looks so much prettier now! I had a bit of trouble sewing some of the buttons on, and that sheer pink fabric that I put on the dresses was a bit hard to get the waves down right, s-so I’ll probably ask for You-chan’s help during club…”

Maru nodded along with Ruby’s words, closing the library door behind them and walking beside her down the hall, listening to her go on and on. Maru swore she could listen to Ruby talk like this for hours on end; seeing her best friend openly talk about things she loved was just so...Nice. She’d talk so much sometimes, though, especially at sleepovers or when they were just hanging out alone, that Maru was surprised the girl didn’t faint from not taking a breath, leaving no room for her to add anything in. She smiled at the thought, but couldn’t help but feel a small pang of...Something; she didn’t quite exactly know what, but she tried to shake it off as Ruby continued to talk about the different sewing lines she tried to use on the fabric. At least Ruby wasn’t crying or thinking about the prominent bump on her head; that was what was important...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2~  
> What will be next~
> 
> Probably more bluh writing ha


End file.
